A motorist died Friday night on Highway 40 East after colliding with a dump truck whose driver had stopped in the right lane due to a mechanical problem .

The facts occurred shortly after 3 a.m., very close to kilometer 90, between Henri-Bourassa and Gouin boulevards, in the Rivière-des-Prairies sector, indicates the sergeant of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), Audrey-Anne Bilodeau.

“According to preliminary information, the driver of the 53-foot dump truck came to rest in the right-hand fast lane due to a mechanical failure. And within a minute, the driver of an SUV hit him in the back,” Bilodeau said.

It was this motorist, who was alone on board, who unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. His death was pronounced at the scene by paramedics. The victim had to be extricated from his vehicle by firefighters.

The Sûreté du Québec has opened an investigation to shed light on the causes and circumstances of the collision. Agents-reconstitutionists were notably requested on the spot to assist the investigators.

Having not suffered significant injuries, the driver of the truck was briefly encountered after the fact, but was in a state of shock. He is expected to be interviewed by investigators later.

“His vehicle will be appraised in order to determine, in particular, whether it is well and truly founded that there was the presence of a major mechanical breakdown,” explained Ms. Bilodeau.

Two out of three lanes of the highway have been closed in the area, indicates Quebec 511 on Twitter, in order to let the authorities carry out the towing of vehicles and the cleaning of the roadway. Traffic should however be reopened at the end of the morning, the SQ said on Saturday.